


Touched

by FailureArtist



Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: Backstory, Gen, Mental Hospital, Original Character(s), Squiddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-07
Updated: 2011-01-07
Packaged: 2017-10-14 12:40:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/149328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FailureArtist/pseuds/FailureArtist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The backstory to one of the Homestuck universe's most beloved creation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Touched

The charcoal-suited man burst through the double doors of the patients' lounge and marched towards the patient sitting by herself at the far end of the room. Before he could get to her, a doctor outstretched her arms and stopped him.  
"Mr. Debone," she said, "You've been told not to come in here like this! It's no good for the patients!"  
"Screw those psychos," he said as he weaved back and forth to get a view through her arms, "I want to see Lady Heartskill!"  
The doctor sighed and looked over at the patient. She was the only patient left in the room, the others occupied with therapy. She was sitting quietly with her back towards them. She had been that way since morning meeting and would probably stay like that all day.  
"Mrs. Heartskill is still in a catatonic state, sir, we've told you…"  
"It's been a week already!" he yelled back, "How long does it take to fix her?"  
"We're not a mechanic shop, sir," she answered tersely, "The mind needs time to recover from trauma…"  
"Time? She doesn't have time! She had an entire year to work for us and she wasted nine months of that out to sea…"  
"She was lost at sea," the doctor corrected, "She was trapped on that boat for God knows how long. She was only flown in here from Sydney eight days ago."  
"Where they treated her for dehydration and what not. And that's after her little weekend at Easter Island! The whole thing has been one big vacation for her. She can go back to work."  
"And what work is so important to risk her health for?"  
Mr. Debone looked at her like she was the crazy one. "What work, Dr. Patel?" he responded, "Only the greatest work this eccentric genius was put on Earth to do: make a new fucking cartoon!"  
The doctor sighed again as the pushy man walked past her and knelt down in front of Heartskill. It was no use trying to stop these television executives. She just walked behind the patient's chair and placed a protective hand on the chair back.  
"Don't yell or try to shake her," she told him, "It's not like she's just asleep. You won't wake her."  
"I know not to do that!" he said, and now knew not to do that.  
Debone looked at the woman. She was never a great beauty, being of that pale unnourished type the English often produce, but she looked horrible now. She looked like she had aged ten years from forty to fifty or even sixty. The already slender woman had lost much weight, making her even bonier than ever. Her long almost-white blond hair was as dry as straw and looked like it would fall out at any moment. And her eyes! Her always watery eyes were now like oceans. The executive didn't shy away though.  
"Listen," he said in a stage whisper, "I knew you were a little off when I found out you gave yourself the title "lady". I knew you were eccentric when I found out your dad was a milkman, not a Russian count, and your quivery posh accent was a put-on. I was disturbed when I found out Manthro Chaps was inspired by your ex-husband. But I know you're not shithouse crazy! Now we have a contract, so you're going to lay a golden egg or your goose is cooked!"  
Debone grabbed Heartskill's elbows. Dr. Patel moved in to stop him, but he stopped himself. He saw something in Heartskill's long bony fingers.  
"Ah, so she does have some drawings for us," he said.  
Dr. Patel's brown skin turned white. "Yes she has been making sketches but I don't think they would be appropriate for a children's…"  
Debone grabbed the sketchbook and opened it up to the first page.  
"…cartoon," she finished, looking at astonishment at the drawing.  
Four days ago Heartskill had started drawing again after her long hiatus. She filled up a sketchbook a day it seemed with detailed pencil drawings of the most horrible deep sea creatures. Dr. Patel and the other doctors shuddered at the sight of them, but figured it was therapeutic for her. Now, in this fresh sketchbook, her style suddenly changed back.  
"Inappropriate? Pictures of cute little octopi are inappropriate?" he asked, and then started to mumble to himself as he looked through, "Hmm, a princess character, tons of merchandise potential there. And this villain, is he a pirate? Pirates are popular. Yeah, this is all good."  
Debone stood up and put the book under his arm. Dr. Patel stopped him from leaving.  
"You're just going to take it?" she asked.  
"Of course, we own her work," he said, "I think. I'll have legal look into it. But I'm not leaving empty-handed."  
"Yes, there is the fact that you're stealing," she said, "But also, the drawings…they still don't seem quite right."  
"We can clean them up, have someone redraw them."  
"No, I mean, they seem cute and innocuous….but she's still drawing ocean things. Like she was before."  
Dr. Patel looked down at the sketchbook as if it were a grimore.  
"I think whatever cartoon she's making..." she said, "is evil."  
Debone looked at her.  
"I think you've spent too much time here," he said, and he left.

 

And that's how "Squiddles: The Animated Series" was created.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on dA under Hysterical-Woman on November 12, 2010. Currently working on a fan adventure based on this here: http://mspachan.net/adv/. Lady Mary Heartskill, Mr. Debone, and Dr. Patel are my creation.


End file.
